The Confederates froze their minie balls off!

smokeythecat

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I did too, but the bulldozers just cleared some new land in a place that has proven to be a Confederate hot spot. I had to get through the upper crust of the ground with a full size pick no less!

I had found three minie balls, with one last one found at the end of the day, and the Deus was about ready to give up as I had found a breeding nest of aluminum cans. One of the last "cans" was deep, and since it was shaded there, the ground was pretty frozen. I had to get out of the house, I needed to do something as I found out my one cat Lily is terminal. And stress is stress. So I dug...

The last "aluminum can" turned out to be this: IMG_1358.webp I have a pic of the back but it's still frozen so I'll let it thaw, instead of using hot water on it. That's a CS rope border stamped brass plate. It has a few slight bends to it and it looks like one of the hooks at least is still on the back.

Here are the minies. IMG_1360.webp .69 minie, .69 Prussian variant, my first one ever, CS Gardiner and CS nose cast minie. After that I quit. It was just too cold. I know there has to be more there. Maybe at the end of the week.

Froze good out there, and rescued the earth from more precious aluminum. I KNEW the aluminum cans were just that, but had just decided to dig that awful spot to get rid of some cans as more Confederate stuff had come out of the area. The plate was slightly on edge and wasn't especially a good signal and was deep and the cans were blocking it.
 

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Upvote 68
rBoom thats how its done freakin cool find. Thats gonna look nice in your display cabinet. Good job on the minis Sorry to hear about Lily, I m sure shes like Family to you. Great going Smokey
 

Thanks Tommy. At this point she doesn't know she's sick. Could be a long time, or now. She just turned 15. I'm not real focused on relics right now...I'll clean it up before I die I guess...
 

Holy smokes! That’s one heck of a find!

Im sorry about your animal being ill. They are truly friends and family.

You need another banner with only 8. Lol. :tongue3: Vote submitted for that awesome relic.
 

Incredible find! Way to go digging that out of the frozen ground and saving a great piece of CS history! Awesome plate and awesome lead. No telling what else is hiding around there. Hope you can get to it before the dozers do.

Hate to hear about your cat. They are part of the family and it hurts to know they're sick.
 

Outstanding find! Congratulations!
 

Sorry to hear about your cat. Now, Smokey, the CS plate. The most understated BANNER find! Talking about mini balls, oh yeah, I found this too. Terrific find, my vote's in.
 

God bless Lily! Keep the finds coming. Hunting those treasures is soothing to the soul!
 

I forgot Banner also
 

Thanks for all the kind words, especially for Lily. BTW I cannot have a banner right now because I already have one up there from another site from last year (gold coin)! But thank you. I like this plate. I looked around the net and it's apparently one of the pricier kinds! I probably went right over it in the past with the machine. Lots of aluminum in the one spot. Like I've said before, the stuff has to be there to begin with and you have to dig most everything. Another spot I've been digging I thought was done. I dug about 35 Civil War buttons, mainly eagles, out of it this fall. Showed me!
 

Souper Dave, I think the dozers are about done, just some smoothing out to do...limited tree removal, no asphalt or concrete will go there. However, they are planting a bunch of trees in the near future.
 

Holy cow what a buckle!!! Those 69 er bullets are always frightening to dig. Big ole hunk of flying lead right there. Sorry about your cat,,,,
HH
TnMtns
 

Awesome!!!! Congrats!!!!
Sorry about Lily too...
 

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Thanks all. This is Lily today. She doesn't want you to notice her belly which was shaved for the test! She is bright eyed and bushy tailed. Just has something inside that won't go away. She has a great time most days. Like I said, I don't think she knows she's sick. IMG_1361.webp She's on her bed with her pillow and two stuffed toys.
 

Lily is so cute. We lost one a few months ago. You are constantly wondering do they or don't they know ? With all the joy they give us, it is hard to watch them go through this stage. It is stressful on the humans. At least you have a little time left with her and the memories. :notworthy:

Those were nice finds you made :icon_thumleft:
 

Hey Smokey...wow... that plate is a STUNNER!! Such a beautiful, well-preserved example. So sorry to hear it’s overshadowed by Lily’s sick spell. We have a few ourselves and earn their keep, rooting out those pesky moles...they actually work together when they’re on the hunt, like a pair of lions in the Serengeti lol... Lije TN Mountains says, those .69 caliber bullets border on scary, that is a lot of lead traveling at a lot of velocity. Congrats, and paws crossed... Ddf.
 

Outstanding job smokey, I love the variety of minies and I love the plate!! Very sorry to hear about your cat, pets are part of the family. I lost my best friend Dave (black lab) a while back and there is still a big hole in my heart but you must move on and be strong!
 

Super find Smokey!
 

As far as Civil War relics go ... this IS a "holy grail"...

BANNER !

Well done Smokes.

PS... Sorry to hear about your cat... err second opinion perhaps ? ? ?
 

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